U.S. strikes Iran. And, immigration courts use new tactic to speed up deportations

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Today's top stories

The U.S. military announced that it launched attacks yesterday on Iranian boats and missile launch sites in Southern Iran. U.S. Central Command Spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said that Iran's boats were trying to lay mines, and the military acted in "self-defense." President Trump raised expectations for peace over the weekend when he said that an agreement had been "largely negotiated." Trump and other officials have since lowered those expectations again.

Russia issued a warning that it will continue its mass strikes on Ukraine following weekend attacks that targeted every district in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The recent Russian attacks on Kyiv are viewed as a response to Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian oil facilities and military logistics. Negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine have stalled as the U.S. focuses on its conflict with Iran. The Trump administration has eased some sanctions on Russian oil exports to alleviate energy shortfalls during the war with Iran.

The Department of Justice is using a new tactic to drastically accelerate immigration hearings, with the goal of issuing more deportation orders. The department is scheduling massive master calendar sessions that include 100 or more individuals at a time. Immigration attorneys and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which tracks immigration court trends, have shared this unprecedented strategy with NPR. Previously, about two or three dozen people would be seen at a time for a first hearing. Attorneys say that these new hearings predominantly target individuals without legal representation. Those who show up late or not at all get removal orders, further truncating the already limited due process available to immigrants.

Trump visits Walter Reed National Military Medical Center today for a doctor's appointment, marking his third visit in 13 months. The frequency of his medical visits has raised concerns about his health. The White House announced the "routine annual dental and medical assessment" two weeks ago and described it as a "part of his regular preventive health care." Trump, who turns 80 next month, is the oldest person to take the oath of office. The president's age, swollen ankles and bruised hands have raised repeated questions about his health and fitness. Trump had his last annual physical in April of last year, after which the White House announced he was in "excellent health."

What's Eating America

What's Eating America is a special series exploring the intersection of food and the economy.

A fiber craze is sweeping the nation, just as the U.S. bean industry aims to double American consumption of legumes by 2030. Bean-centric recipes are popping up all across social media, and there are even "bean-fluencers" in a corner of TikTok called BeanTok. One heirloom-bean subscription service has become so popular it now has a waitlist of tens of thousands of people. Many Americans fall short of their recommended fiber intake, and beans provide an excellent solution. Plus, as food prices rise, beans offer a budget-friendly and nutritious source of protein that can keep you as satisfied as beef can, according to a study published in The Journal of Nutrition. Here are some of the health benefits of beans:

Saving money on food can be challenging. NPR's latest newsletter journey will help you choose, plan and cook three affordable meals over four weeks. The guide will also give you tips on dining out. Sign up for the How to Cut Your Food Bill here.

Behind the story

by Emily Feng, NPR international correspondent

One of the really big stories on my beat covering China for the last decade has been Beijing's intensive ramp-up in detaining and persecuting Uyghurs, a primarily Muslim ethnic minority. The global scrutiny of these detentions led to sanctions on Chinese officials, as well as U.S. legislation banning the import of goods made from Uyghur forced labor — all of which, of course, further strained U.S.-China ties.

Beijing would occasionally cite the presence of Uyghur militants in Syria and Afghanistan as justification for these detentions. So imagine my surprise when I found lots of Uyghurs while reporting for NPR in Syria, after the Assad regime crumbled in December 2024.

But getting the Uyghurs in Syria to agree to an interview was difficult. Syria's new government banned interviews with them, and the Uyghurs were suspicious, having lived in near-total secrecy for more than a decade.

But after a few months of talks with them, the Uyghurs said they were ready to sit down and grant interviews. I was nervous to meet them because they are a heavily armed militia. I also brought with me Uyghur and Arabic-speaking producers. I knew that although many fighters spoke good Mandarin Chinese, a language I speak, they associate the language with state oppression.

In the end, we were able to interview more than 40 Uyghurs and their families for this NPR series. We spent more than a month reporting in northern Syria and visiting many of the battle sites where they fought alongside Syrian rebels. We discovered a lot of the Uyghurs had first tried and then lost faith in peaceful dissent, turning to armed resistance in large part because of generations of repression — suggesting, perhaps, that Beijing's ethnic policies had exacerbated the very problem they were trying to address. The NPR podcast State of the World is running the whole series in one episode.

3 things to know before you go

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.